It’s more like democrazy

Martin Williams

DA city councillor for Joburg Martin Williams

Do you know who your local MP is? Who’s your ward councillor? Do you know how to get hold of them? What can they do for you?

These questions are prompted by a report in City Press indicating that about R250 million is spent each year on constituencies, and there’s little to show for it. Studies have shown that most South Africans don’t know which MPs and councillors are supposed to represent them.

Part of the problem is that we do not have a constituency system when it comes to MPs. We vote for parties and those parties send people to parliament based on their positions on party lists. Parties assign MPs to constituencies, where they are supposed to serve.